A Somebody's Fishtale
by Halfsan
Summary: Just a little backstory I made up for Demyx - Moments in "Myde's" life in Atlantica, with his best friend Ariel, leading up to his eventual decent into darkness. Rated for some language.
1. Concert

**This idea was floating in my head pretty much since 358/2 Days came out. I recently did a playthrough of the game, and remembered that the only thing that I didn't like about it was that only characters named Roxas get a backstory. Ah, well. This is just something I liked to think about. I know other people have thought of this, but this is my take on it. I hope _somebody_ likes it, despite how short it's going to be(like nine chapters at most). I just have a feeling some game is going to come out, and RUIN this fanfic, but I DON'T CARE. I've already written this thing out, except the ending. Anyway, sorry for the longish A/N, hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts OR The Little Mermaid! They belong to Square-Enix and Disney. I just own my own thoughts.**

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The palace was quickly filling up as the citizens of Atlantica swam to find spots. Myde floated inside a nearby cave, waiting for the concert to start. He was a little bit nervous, playing in front of so many people. It wasn't even his decision to open for the main act. It was all _her_ idea. He grasped the strap that held his sitar tightly, waiting for his cue. The place was full, with merfolk and all sorts of other creatures that resided in the sea. A servant announced the arrival of King Triton. The room echoed with cheers and clapping as he road in with his most loyal servant, Sebastian.

Myde released the strap to his sitar, to clap as the king appeared. Sebastian took his place in front of the band, and looked over to where Myde was. He waved his claw at him, motioning him to take the stage. Myde swallowed his stomach back in place and swam slowly, taking the spot in front of Sebastian.

"You're gonna do fine," he encouraged. Myde inhaled as he flipped the sitar into playing position.

"Before we start the main act," Triton bellowed to the audience, "we'll open with a song from Myde. For those unaware, he is a very good friend of my youngest daughter."

The audience applauded as Myde looked on to them. He exhaled, and looked up at the king, who gave him a reassuring smile. Myde smirked and bowed at him, implying thanks.

"Whenever you're ready, Myde," Triton stated.

Myde nodded and began strumming the strings of his sitar with his shaky fingers. A bit slow at first, but they sped up, as his left hand rushed up and down the neck of his instrument. His eyes were shut, until he opened them to improvise a dance. Bubbles flew up from his tail as he swayed back and forth, gently. Eventually, he began doing a few flips and corkscrews, still playing his melody with grace.

Myde loved the sitar. He loved music, and he loved to write music. When he first got the sitar, he practiced nonstop. It was something he always kept with him, strapped to his back. He just loved the sound it made, and the feeling was amplified when it was accompanied with _her_ voice.

Myde ended the song, and took in another deep breath. The audience roared with excitement, to which he smiled to. He looked to Sebastian who was nodding his head and smiling, and even Triton was clapping. Myde took a deep bow to the audience and swam off the stage. Now it was time for the main act. Myde chose a place where he knew he could have a great view.

Sebastian now held a conductor's wand and held it up, signaling that the band would be playing soon. When the music started, the daughters of Triton began singing and dancing to the tune. The flipping and spinning caused bubbles to fly everywhere. One, two, three, four, five, six... _She _ had yet to appear. Myde closed his eyes, ready to have _her_ voice grace his ears...but instead, there were gasps from all of the girls. The audience were stunned and the band stopped playing. Myde dropped his jaw in shock.

'_She forgot?' _Myde wasn't sure how _she'd _forget a day like this, but he had an idea of where _she _was. As he swam away, he heard the booming voice of the king.

"_Ariel!"_

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Myde swam up high enough to where he could see the sky out of the water. It was higher than he really cared to swim, but he knew she'd be here. He floated on his back, flipping his tail up and down, scanning his eyes along the surface of the water for any trace of her. After swimming for some minutes, he found her aqua green tail poking below the surface, and her red hair floating on top of the water. Myde swam up, and grabbed her by the fins, pulling her under the water.

"I thought I'd find you here, Ariel," Myde smirked at her.

"Myde!" Ariel exclaimed in surprise. "I wasn't—I mean.."

"Yeah, yeah," he said to her. "Ariel, you know you shouldn't come up here. It's dangerous! You coulda been seen!"

"Oh, don't scold me, Myde. You sound like my father," she blurted. "Besides, there's no one out here but me."

"Ugh, fine," Myde sighed. "What were you even doin' up here, anyways?"

"Treasure hunting, of course!" she said excitedly, holding out a bag. "Wanna see?"

Myde shrugged, and reached inside the bag. There wasn't much inside, so he felt around.

"Ouch!" he yelped, pulling out a small, silver thing that almost resembled the Trident. "It's just human junk, Ariel. I don't know what you see in this stuff." He dropped the painful object back in the bag.

"Well, I think it's interesting," she admitted. "I think the entire surface world is just fascinating!"

"Wow, when'd you become so morbid?" Myde joked. "They eat fish and I've heard that some even kill each other! Does that sound very fascinating to you?"

"Well, no. But it can't be all bad," she said. "Be honest, have you ever wondered was it was like to walk on land?"

"Well," Myde sighed in defeat. He knew he couldn't lie to her, "yeah, I have. I will admit, despite the stories I've heard, I'd like to see what it's like up there. Even if it's just for a day."

"Ha ha! I knew it," she said, a huge grin spreading on her face. "Then do you want to come treasure hunting with me tomorrow? It'll be fun, I promise!"

"Uh, well," Myde thought for a moment, "it..couldn't hurt, I guess.."

"Alright!" Ariel said, swimming to wrap her friend in her arms.

"Yeah," he muttered wrapping an arm around her, "tomorrow, we don't _have any plans_." He emphasized. Ariel pulled away from him, eying her friend, until her eyes shot wide open.

"Oh no! The concert! I completely forgot!" she spat, grasping her hair. "Daddy's gonna _kill _me!" Ariel quickly sped down near the ocean's floor.

"Hey, Ariel, wait up!"

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**Well? How is it so far? I'd love to hear from you. Please review. Remember, I have got this entire thing written out, and more reviews = faster updates! Even if I don't get any, I'll still update, just very slowly. :B**

**ALSO, if you want an idea of how the song at the beginning is supposed to sound, do a YouTube search of "Ephemeral Phantasia Eternal Love." It _should _be the first video. It's a really great song!**


	2. Sunken Ship Shark Attack

**A grand total of one review! Nothing absolutely special, but still! Okay, the first chapter wasn't anything too special, but here's the next chapter. It's been a few weeks since I posted the story, so I guess I need to update, even if one person is reading. Enjoy!**

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Myde felt as if he had searched the entire ocean, but he had yet to find his red-headed friend. There was still one place he hadn't checked yet, but it was mainly because he was a bit..._nervous_ about going to the palace. It's not that he was afraid of the king. Triton was normally very friendly whenever they got an opportunity to speak with each other. It was just the conversation that always managed to come up whenever they _did_ talk. Always abrupt, always having nothing to do with the current subject, and always starting out the same way. Myde exhaled deeply, as he thought about this last resort.

A glimmer of hope revealed itself when he saw a group of merpeople swim nearby. Myde quickly flipped his tail, and swam in their direction.

"Uh, 'scuse me," he began, "have you seen Princess Ariel anywhere?"

"The princess?" The blond mermaid shook her head. "Have you guys seen her around?" Her two friends both shook their heads.

'_Damn.'_

Myde swallowed hard as he nodded his head in thanks, and swam toward the palace. He bit his lip nervously as he entered, and swam before the king.

"Ah, sorry for coming uninvited, Your Majesty," Myde muttered, bowing his head low.

"Nonsense," Triton said. "A friend of my daughter is always welcome. What do you need?"

"Um, well, I was wonderin' if you knew were Ariel was." Myde looked up and made eye contact with Triton. "We're supposed to hang out today, but I can't find her."

"If I'm not mistaken," he explained, "she went out to find _you_."

"O—oh," Myde stuttered, turning his head, peering out the exit. "Well, I should see if I can find her." Myde turned away, prepared to flip his tail faster than he ever had, but he stopped before he could even start moving.

"Myde," the king began.

'_Too late.'_

"Yes, Your M—majesty?" Myde was nearly shaking, as he turned around. He kept his head slightly bowed, to hide the redness in his cheeks.

"I was just wondering..if..well," Triton trailed off, trying to find the right words. This is the part of the conversation that would change around. Triton cleared his throat before he continued, "has your relationship with Ariel...changed any? At all?"

Myde opened his mouth to form a sentence, but all that came out was a yelp. For whatever reason, Triton had it in his mind that Myde was the perfect merman for his youngest daughter. Myde and Ariel had been friends since childhood, and seemed perfect for each other. Ariel had made mention that all of her sisters had teased her about this. In their youth, Myde had mentally admitted to himself that he did have sort of a crush on her, but he was so little then. Now that they were older, he felt that if they had formed a relationship beyond being friends, it would just be..weird; Triton, however, had different plans.

"N—no, Your Majesty," Myde finally managed to blurt out, "n—no change."

The king grumbled at this. He wasn't angry at Myde, just angry that his daughter and her best friend would be nothing more than that—friends.

"Myde!" Ariel's voice echoed through the palace, making both Myde and Triton, turn to her direction.

"Ariel, there you are," Myde said, swimming to her side. "I looked everywhere!"

"Look who's talking," she admitted. "C'mon, let's get going!"

Ariel grasped Myde's hand and swam off to go treasure hunting. Myde couldn't help but mentally groan to himself. She _always_ acted like that in front of her father. He could just hear the king mumbling to himself about how _Myde is just embarrassed to admit his feelings_ and so on. He decided to ignore it. There was a big adventure ahead!

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"So where's all of this _treasure_?" Myde questioned his friend. Sarcasm dripped from his emphasis like acid. He still wasn't very convinced that human stuff could be treasure. Then again, it was interesting to see things that he had never seen before.

"You'll see!" she promised.

'_Leave it to Ariel to keep ya in suspense.'_

Ariel led the way while Myde followed closely behind...well, as closely as he _could_ follow. Ariel was a very fast, very agile swimmer. Myde, on the other hand was a very mellow merman. There wasn't much fast swimming in his life. He was always caught up with practicing on his sitar. Ariel was sort of a rebel(Myde always teased her about being a _professional trouble-maker_). She had a reason to swim fast, whether it was avoiding the sight of humans when she swam to the surface, or getting to close to dangerous ocean creatures.

Myde was flipping his tail so fast that he couldn't stop in time when Ariel finally stopped, abruptly. He crashed into her, causing them to tumble and flip.

"S—sorry," he said, turning his head away, trying to hide the redness in his face. The talk her father gave him was still ringing clearly in his mind.

"That's okay," she giggled at him. "We're here, though."

Ariel extended an arm, pointing at an object that Myde thought he'd never see.

"Is that.. a ship?" Myde questioned, tilting his head to the side as he eyed the peculiar object.

"Uh-huh," she confirmed, with an enormous grin spread on her face. Anyone would be able to tell she was ready to hunt for treasure.

Myde stared at the _ship, _biting his lower lip a bit, before excitement exploded within him. He suddenly couldn't control the smile that now spread across his face. He _really _was excited.

"Well, what're we waitin' for?" he protested. "Let's go already!"

Myde zipped past his friend, only to have her once again leaving him in the bubbles. The ship had a giant hole in the side of it, which was most likely the cause of it winding up down in the ocean. The two friends used this as an entrance. Myde was so excited that he was nearly biting a hole through his bottom lip. As they entered, Myde felt a little bit disappointed.

"This is it?" he asked, turning to his friend, who was already beginning to search through every corner of the ship.

"Yeah," she stated matter-of-factly. "You gotta look around some."

Myde turned away from her, seeing that the ship had more than one room. He decided to explore here, since the current area didn't have anything eye-catching. As he entered the next room, he still didn't see anything that caught his attention. Myde decided to take his friend's advice and search within the debris of the ship. He began by picking up pieces of the ship that had caved in, and found a strange looking box. Myde flipped the lid open and realized that it was a human jewely box. It had all kinds of necklaces, rings, and bracelets inside. They were all unorganized, and seemed to be hastily thrown in.

Myde reached in and picked up a necklace at random. Surprisingly, it wasn't tangled in a mess like some of the other pieces were. The necklace was a very thin chain, and the charm was some kind of locket. Myde managed to wedge his fingernail to pry it open, and saw that the picture inside was worn away from being under water for who knows how long. He closed it, and managed to notice the engraving on the outside of the locket. It looked like a seashell.

'_So..humans are just as obsessed with us as we are with them?'_

"Myde, have you found anything yet?" Ariel's voice sounded as she appeared in the room.

"Uh, yeah," he said turning around to her. "Human jewelry." He held out the box containing the sparkling pieces.

Ariel snached the box from his hands and began poking through it. Her eyes widened as she noticed how pretty each piece was.

"Wow," she whispered to herself. Her eyes went up and noticed the locket that Myde held in his hands, "Can I see that?"

"Uh huh, sure," he said, handing it over to her. "You find anything interesting?"

"No," she said, not taking her eyes off of the charm. "Nothing I don't already have, at least—oh! Look at that! A seashell!" Ariel held out the charm, pointing to the nearly faint engraving.

"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Myde admitted. "You can have it, if you want."

"Can I really?" Her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Oh, it'll make a nice addition to my collection!"

"Collection?" Myde raised an eyebrow. He never heard her make any mention of her having a collection of human things. "What collection?"

"Oh," Ariel muttered, hanging her head low with embarrassment. "I kind of have to keep quiet about it, so Daddy doesn't find out about it. Do you want to see it sometime?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Myde said with a smile.

"Okay. We should head back, before anyone—," Ariel was cut off by a brief shadow that just rushed passed them. Only for a second, and the light was back. Her next words were barely a whisper, "D—did you—?"

Before either of them nearly had any time to react, a load roar sounded, and a shark had bit through the ship, and almost got them as well. Ariel had clasped Myde's wrist before swimming as fast as her fins would allow.

"A _shark_?!" Myde shrieked. A shark was something he never encountered, nor did he ever plan to.

"Through here!" Ariel pointed a hand forward, to a hole that was just big enough for each of them to squeeze through. She let go of Myde and went through.

Myde was so caught up in trying to escape that he forgot about the sitar strapped to his back. It prevented him from making his way through this narrow spot. He quickly pulled it off, slipping it inside the hole to his friend.

"Swim!" he demanded his friend, as he sharply swam upward just out of the shark's reach. His fins were flipping as fast as he could make them, and his arms were out stroking the water to make him go even a little bit faster. He quickly made his way into the room that he and Ariel entered through. Myde took a single glance behind him, seeing that the shark was just at his fins. He quickly curled them up as the shark tried to bite him.

"Myde!" A hand wrapped around his wrist, and when Myde saw that it was his friend, he was irritated.

"I told you, _get out of here!_" he growled. Ariel simply shook her head and began dragging him behind her. The shark continued to follow them, with its mouth open, ready to chomp down. Myde shook out of her grip, and causiously swam around the shark, smacking it in the face with his tail.

"Are you _crazy_?" he heard Ariel shriek.

"Okay, you beast," he said, completely ignoring his friend's protest, "follow me!"

Myde may have not been the fastest swimmer, but he was a lot more agile then this shark. He swam as fast as he could, zig-zagging back and forth. He had a plan, and hoped that it would work. The shark made a gutteral noise, definitely getting annoyed that Myde was moving around so much. Myde headed for an anchor that had somewhat been buried in the sand. He was just the size to fit through the top of it. He only hoped that the shark was foolish enough to follow him.

'_Come on..'_

Myde swam through, shutting his eyes, and once he thought he was through, he turned completely. He saw that the shark had wedged its way through and he seemed to be stuck. Myde put a hand to his chest, as he exhaled deeply.

"Myde!" Ariel swam to his side. "That was so dangerous, but so—cool!" She handed back his sitar and he strapped it to his back.

"I was mainly just..improvising," he admitted. "Glad it all worked out."

"Me too," she said, wrapping her arms around her friend. "Now let's get out of here!"

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And that's chapter two! Please review! Remember, more reviews = faster updates(but I will update regardless).


	3. First Time Experiences

**All of my damn formatting ran away. I am angry. Anyway, I like this chapter a lot, so I hope you do, too!**

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Myde swam quickly to meet up with his friend for today's experience. Ariel agreed to show him her secret hiding spot for her collection of human objects. He had only recently heard about this, even though the two were such close friends. Ariel must have wanted no one to find out about it, he supposed. After yesterday's shark attack, the two had agreed to meet up near the entrance to the palace.

As he neared the palace, he spotted his friend. She noticed him too, waving to him, before swimming up to him. Ariel's eyes shifted back and forth, making sure no one was going to follow them. When Myde noticed how cautious she was, he began to grow slightly nervous. It was then that it occurred to him that Ariel would be in deep trouble if anyone—especially her father—were to find out she had been hiding this. Now he was _really _nervous.

Ariel led the way, while Myde followed. Normally, Ariel would be yards ahead of him, but instead, he was closer than he had ever followed. He supposed that she didn't want to seem in a hurry, so no one would be tempted to follow her. The two made their way into the undersea gorge. Ariel led him to a giant bolder, leaning against what looked like a tower. Her head quickly looked to her left, to her right, and she spun to look behind them. When she noticed that no one was there but them, she pulled the bolder back. Myde took a closer look and realized that there was a hidden cave behind the bolder. His friend quickly waved her hand, motioning him to enter, and the look on her face told him to go quickly.

Myde slipped through the opening, and he nearly stopped right there as he saw the massive amount of treasure. His jaw nearly hit the floor as he slowly swam inside to see the rest of the cavern. Hundreds upon hundreds of all sorts of human trinkets, some he had heard of, and some he couldn't even imagine.

"What do you think?" Ariel said, wrecking his thought train. He couldn't think of a word to describe it. Myde had never really been into all of this stuff, but seeing all of the cool things the humans had was incredible, and there was so much to take in at once, he thought his mind was going to explode.

"It's..oh, wow. That's—," he sputtered. His mind knew what he was saying, but his mouth wasn't forming the words properly.

"Yeah, it's not much," she admitted as she swam to his side.

"Not _much_?" He turned to her, shocked. "You gotta be jokin'!"

"Well," she started, "I don't think it's much."

"And why would _that _be?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"I have all of this stuff, sure, but," she said, starting to trail off. "I want...no—no, it's stupid!"

"No, what! Tell me!" Myde demanded.

"I—I want...well, you're my best friend, so promise me you won't tell _anyone_." She stared him in the eye.

"Of course," he said with a smile.

"I don't...want to stay here," she admitted , turning her head to her collection. "It's a stupid dream, that seems that it will stay that way—just a dream. I want to see the surface world. No—I want to live in it."

"You..." Myde trailed off. He understood Ariel's fascination with the human world..but wanting to go there? Was she serious? He knew the answer when her looked into her eyes. Of course she was serious. Her eyes were like a window to her heart, and he saw that her heart was broken.

"Heh," she chuckled, and looked up at Myde, smiling a fake smile. "Stupid, huh?"

"Not quite what I expected," he admitted, scratching the back of his head, "but no, not stupid."

"You really mean that?" she asked him. "You're always scolding me, telling me I shouldn't go to the surface. Just like my father."

Ouch. That was a low blow. Being compared to Ariel's father wasn't really a good thing. Myde swallowed the bad taste in his mouth from the comparison.

"Well," he started, "I'm not really one to talk. I've never seen anything above the water."

"Really?" She looked at him and laughed. "You never got curious, and took one peek?"

"No," he admitted.

"Alright, then!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand, "I'm going to show you the sky!"

"H—hey!" Before he could react any further, the two had already swam out of the grotto(well, it was Ariel who did most of the swimming), and she led him to the surface. Myde became a little nervous as he stared through the water up at the sky.

"Go on! It's really amazing!" she explained.

"But," he protested, "won't someone see us?"

"No, no one ever swims up this high," she said.

'_I meant humans,' _he thought to himself. He let out an extended sigh, closed his eyes, and began to flip his fin. In a matter of seconds, Myde felt his first breeze. His eyelids flew open, and once again, he was amazed beyond belief. Staring straight out, he saw the orange Sun just sinking into the water, making gold highlights dance on the surface as the waves flowed. He stared up, seeing massive white, puffy clouds hovering above him, stuck on a partly blue, partly yellow sky. There were even parts that were pinkened.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Ariel's voice sounded, just after the splash she made as she broke the surface. When he didn't respond, she looked at him, and giggled at the expression on his face. Her laughter brought him back to consciousness.

"I don't even know if a word exists that can describe it," he admitted.

"You know," Ariel said, breaking a short silence, "us and them—the humans, I mean—live in two completely different worlds, but...we both share this same sky."

"Huh," Myde muttered. "You're right. I never thought of it that way." He managed to break his eye contact from the sky and looked to his friend, who was now looking up, and once again, he saw her heart, through her eyes—broken. He frowned at this.

"We may be different," she started, "but we still live in the same world, under the same sky. You see, I don't see us as two different worlds, I see it as a single world, that is just split."

"You.. you _really _wanna live up here..don't you?" he said, subtly choking back a sob.

"Yes." She looked back down to the water.

"I'll help you get there, any way I can," Myde spat out with confidence.

"You..you'd do that?" Ariel's gaze shifted to her friend.

"You're my best friend. Of course. That's what friends do," he said, smiling. "I'll even come with you..if you want."

"Really?!" she exclaimed. Ariel was grinning from ear-to-ear, and her eyes seemed to sparkle, which blocked the painful view behind the window.

"It's a promise," he said, wrapping his arms around his friend, as she did the same.

This promise made him a tiny bit nervous—after all, he didn't know what the surface world was like. It could have been a horrifying place, like the stories he heard; however, Myde figured that as long as he had his best friend with him, it wouldn't be that bad.

The two both decided that since the Sun was nearly completely sunken in the ocean, that their visit above the water was long overdue. They both sank in the water, and swam together. Myde decided that he'd escort Ariel back to the palace. After a great deal of silence(other then their fins flapping against the water), Ariel spoke up.

"You know," she began, "the sky is even more beautiful _at night_."

"Night, eh," Myde muttered to himself, slowing his pace. "I'll go check it out someday."

They continued on their path. It was at this point that Myde noticed Ariel humming a tune, softly, to herself. It played over and over in his mind, and suddenly, the treasure, the sky, it all came back to him. He stopped swimming, and slipped his sitar over his shoulder, in playing position. He strummed all of the strings at once, making Ariel turn to him. This was a gesture that Myde used when he wanted to do a duet with Ariel, and she knew that when Myde was inspired, he had to express it, or he would explode.

He carefully played the tune, swaying slightly to the beat. Ariel closed her eyes, humming it to herself. She then swam close to him, dancing with him. And then she began to sing:

_When you are happy with laughter to spare,  
Fun is twice as fun with someone to share,  
When you are lonely, and full of despair,  
Things aren't half as bad when somebody cares,_

Myde then started playing more and more chords. Inspiration was some powerful force. It managed to take hold both of them, making them both create music together. The music continued to flow from Myde's fingers and Ariel's voice.

_When you're lookin' for a shoulder you can cry on,  
Won't you think about me?  
When you're lookin' for someone you can rely on,  
Don't you ever doubt me!_

_I'll be there, some way some how..  
That's what bein' friends is about!_

The two continued to play and sing. They began dancing, flipping, corkscrewing. There was so much energy in both of them. So much complexity of their movements, but neither of them broke the rhythm.

_When you are restless, and want room to breathe,  
I will give you all the space that you need,  
And when you are ready for my company,  
I will come around, just call on me!_

_When you need someone who feels the way you do,  
Won't you think about me?  
__Someone who can pick you up when you are blue,__Don't you ever doubt me!__I'll be there some way, some how..  
That's what bein' friends is about!_

"Friends forever?" Myde asked.

"Friends forever," Ariel answered.

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**Ultra super special awesome brownie points if anyone knows what that song is from! Read and review, please. **


	4. Night of the Exploding Colors

**I think this chapter is my favorite... or second favorite. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

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The day was going by incredibly slowly. Myde just wanted the sun to hurry up and set so he could see the night sky. Ariel had explained to him that it was even better than in the day time. To pass the time, Myde decided to head to a small club. There, merpeople could have a snack, or hang out; today, however, was a day where amateur musicians could get on stage and play. Myde had done this a few times, sometime with a small audience, and sometime with the club nearly empty. He didn't care, though. As long as he could play his sitar.

When he arrived, the club only had a few occupants. He saw that the stage was vacant. He hurriedly swam to the spot, and pulled out his sitar. Before playing seriously, he began to strum a few chords, clearing his mind. His eyes shut gently, as he began to set his mind on a song to play. After a few moments, Myde started plucking the strings to the beginning of his first song. The sounds echoed through the near-emptiness of the area. The song was very slow paced at first, but eventually picked up in speed. The song ended, and when he looked up from the neck of his instrument, he noticed that the club had more merpeople in it than before. Their eyes were glued to the stage.

Myde swallowed hard as he saw the many pairs of eyes on him. He wasn't used to getting noticed this much. He almost felt like he was playing at the concert again. The small crowd began to applaud softly, which made Myde's cheeks turn red.

"You're the one who opened the concert, aren't you?" a mermaid asked him.

"Uhm—," he stuttered, "yeah." The crowd began gasping, and whispering among themselves.

"I knew I recognized you," she said, smiling. "You play beautifully. How about another song?"

"Yeah," Myde answered, with a smile, "sure."

Even though he was a little nervous, he decided to give this a shot. He ran his fingers across all of the strings, before he started playing a very fast-paced song. The song went fairly smoothly, even though his anxiety caused him to mess up a few chords. The audience either didn't notice, or didn't mind. He ended the song, throwing out a pose at the end. The crowd clapped and cheered, and Myde smiled and bowed to them.

Myde pondered to himself, wondering which song he would play next. He stared blankly ahead of him, and he instantly knew what song to play, when he saw who entered the club.

"Ah! Princess Ariel," he called to her, causing everyone to turn their attention to her. "Will you join me in a duet?"

"Huh?" She seemed completely oblivious. "I—"

"C'mon!" he said to her, motioning her over.

Ariel let out a slight sigh, as she swam over to the stage, floating next to Myde. He began playing a very slow, peaceful song, and Ariel inhaled a breath to begin singing:

_We met at the birth of the night,__  
Under the Sun's dying light,__  
Although I don't understand if there is some greater plan,  
I know it is what I want, because I love you.._

Myde continued playing, and looked over at Ariel. When he looked closer, he noticed that she didn't look very happy. He wondered what was with her, but even though she seemed sad, she continued to sing.

_One thing I cannot see,__  
Why are you so good to me?__  
You place your hand in mine, and stare into my eyes,  
And whisper in my ear: because I love you.._

He plucked the notes to end the song, and the second the crowd began clapping, Ariel hurriedly swam out of the club. Myde didn't even take a second glance at the merpeople in the club, and followed his friend.

"Ariel, wait!" Myde called out. The sound of his voice stopped her. Ariel turned around, and looked to him.

"Hey, Myde," she muttered to him, barely making eye-contact.

"Okay, what's wrong?" he asked. "You can tell me."

"Oh, Daddy caught me going to the surface," she blurted. "I got _quite_ a talking to.

"Ah, that explains it," he said. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," she told him, smiling. "In fact, singing with you cheered me up a bit."

"Good," he said. Myde then realized that it was probably dark by now, and looking up confirmed his suspicion. "Ah, Ariel, I was gonna go check out the night sky today."

"I see," she said, "I'll come with you."

"B—but, what about what your father—," Myde tried to ask.

"Oh, forget about what he says!" Ariel interrupted, and grabbed Myde by the wrist, leading him to the surface.

Myde knew that his protests would go unheeded. When Ariel got in trouble with her father, the thing she normally resorted to was to disobey him even more. In the past, Myde would agree with the king, but now that he had visited the surface, he didn't see what the problem was. Surfacing in the middle of the ocean was probably the most unlikely spot to encounter any humans.

Ariel broke the surface first, and then Myde. The first thing he noticed was that it was significantly colder than in during the day. After having a shiver roll down his spine, he inhaled a deep breath, as he stared up at the night sky.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. The sky was a purplish-bluish color, and the it sparkled with thousands upon thousands of stars. The clouds were scurrying quickly across the sky, and eventually uncovered a full, glowing moon that brightened the entire area.

"What'd I tell ya?" Ariel said swimming closer to him.

"Haha, you weren't kiddin'," Myde admitted.

It was so peaceful. Apart from the light wind, and the sound of the waves crashing against each other, there wasn't a sound. The two spent, what felt like hours, staring up at the sky, that was constantly changing because of the clouds. Suddenly, both Ariel and Myde were startled by a very loud explosion that echoed through the area. It was so loud, that everything in the ocean could probably hear it.

"What the hell was that?!" Myde yelled, covering his ears.

"I—I don't know," Ariel admitted. She began to scan the area for the source, and it sounded again. Ariel tensed up at the spontaneous noise, but her eyes grew wide at what she saw. "Whoa! Look!"

Myde looked where she pointed, and saw a huge explosion of blue. Another loud noise, and up came an explosion of purple.

"Whoa," Myde muttered. "What is it, Ariel?"

"I—I don't know," she admitted, "but..wow."

The two got used to the extremely loud noises by the beauty of their results. An explosion of every color imaginable, and some none could ever imagine, appeared that night. The source, the two later found out, was from a ship.

"So, you've never seen this before?" Myde questioned.

"Well," Ariel began, "I've seen ships sailing before, but..I have no idea what those exploding colors are."

"I guess it doesn't matter," he explained, "we're here, and we're seein' it."

"Yeah," Ariel said with a chuckle, "I guess your right."

The two continued to view the show of the exploding colors, as the ship sailed out of their sight. The noises grew softer the farther the ship sailed, and eventually stopped altogether.

"Ugh, my ears are ringin'," Myde complained.

"Mine, too," Ariel said, "but it was worth it, right?"

"Totally," he answered.

"Well," Ariel began, "I think I'm going to head back home, before Daddy freaks out and issues a search party."

"Okay," Myde chuckled. "I think I'm gonna hang up here for a while. It's really something!" Ariel nodded.

"Be careful," she told him. With that, she dove back in the water.

Myde was lying on his back, on a tiny island he managed to find. His sitar was in playing position, and he was strumming an improvised tune. His eyes were glued to the shining moon above him. The sound of the waves were a great accompaniment to his instrument. The end of his tail was in the water, and every so often would flip it out, causing a light splash.

The night sky, the moon, the sparkling stars, and the exploding colors were all experiences that he would never, ever forget. He felt lucky to have seen all of this, even though the humans probably saw it every day. He didn't care, though. Myde just continued to play his sitar.

Normally when inspiration hit, he'd close his eyes to help him concentrate, but with the shining moon above him, there was no need. Myde mostly played several chords slowly. Occasionally, he'd pluck single strings for slightly faster parts. It was almost as if he were possessed, playing the notes involuntarily.

Suddenly, a gust of wind broke his concentration. He clamped his eyes shut when they started to burn. The wind only got heavier and when he looked back up to the sky, he saw something..strange. A giant, purplish-black thing hung in the sky. The wind continued to get stronger. So strong, in nearly blew him off the small island. He took another glance at the strange thing in the sky. He didn't feel that inspired anymore. Myde dove back into the safety of the ocean.

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**Okay, that's all. Those lyrics don't belong to me, they were written by someone else, but are sang to the tune "Because I Love You" from the game EarthBound. Enjoy!**


	5. Arrival of the Dark Monsters

**I've neglected the hell out of this story, and I apologize. I was under a great deal of stress, because my graduation was nearing.. but it's all over, so I have a lot of free time! So here's the next chapter.**

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Chills still ran down Myde's back from the strange orb in the sky. He didn't know what it was, but it made him feel very uneasy. Something that strange shouldn't belong in a sky so beautiful. Apparently, everyone in the ocean must have felt it, too, without even seeing it. Almost all of Atlantica was deathly quiet, and deserted. The few merpeople Myde happened to notice seemed to be very cautious.

Today, Myde figured that he'd look for Ariel, and ask her about the thing he saw last night. Maybe it was a common thing, but there was only one way to be sure. Since there was no one he could see, finding Ariel shouldn't be too much of a chore.

Myde continued to swim along, and as he got further, he grew scared. He wasn't completely sure why, but he supposed it had to do with the fact that almost no one was out. It's like they were hiding from something. The silence was just amplifying his fear. Myde began to swim faster, and more cautiously.

Suddenly, the silence had been broken, but not in the way that made Myde feel any better. A shriek. He quickly turned his head in the direction of the scream, and just missed a mermaid swimming past him.

"Hey, wait!" he called out to her. She didn't even give him a second glance.

'_Hm..what's she swimmin' from?'_

Myde wondered to himself, feeling even more frightened. He quickly turned to the direction the mermaid had come from. There didn't seem to be anything there. Myde felt slightly relieved, but only slightly. With a deep breath, he continued the search for his friend.

Swimming was beginning to grow so monotonous and tiring. Myde just wished that Ariel would show up out of nowhere. It had crossed his mind to check the palace, but the king was angry with his daughter, and Ariel normally didn't stick around when he was. Myde decided to take a short break, and swam to a rock to sit on. While he rested his fins, he couldn't help but be _slightly_ worried about Ariel's whereabouts.

Myde shut his eyes, scanning his thoughts for any place he hadn't checked, but his thought train was wrecked by a strange screeching noise. His eyes shot open, and he turned around, only to be greeted by a...monster! It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Black as the darkness, big, round eyes, with legs, and seemed to be holding a spear. On the creature's body was a strange emblem: a red and black heart with cracks through it.

"W—what.." he began, before being interrupted by the strange creature thrusting its spear at him. Myde barely dodged, and quickly swam off. He began moving his arms to help him swim faster. His head turned to see how far the creature was. It didn't seem to be following him. As he turned his attention back to the front, he ran into something large. Myde backed up to get a better look. It seemed to be a giant fish, but none that lived in this ocean. When he realized that it bore the same heart-shaped emblem, he swam around it quickly.

'_I've gotta warn the king..'_

Myde was flipping his fins faster than he had ever in his lifetime. He kept thinking that Ariel _must _be at the palace with these weird.._things_ roaming around. He hoped that Triton could do something about this problem. Myde ran into a few more of the black creatures, but luckily managed to avoid them. A few of them appeared out of nowhere when he neared the palace entrance. He swiftly maneuvered around them, only receiving a cut on his arm from one of their spears.

"Your Majesty!" he called out to the king. Myde's pace slowed down, as he began huffing from the quick swim.

"Myde?" the king questioned. "What's wrong?"

"There's...there's.." Myde could barely talk between breaths. He turned around, and saw that the black creatures had followed him. Myde extended an arm and pointed to them. "L—look!"

Triton got a look of horror on his face, as he extended his Trident and fired a beam of light at the creatures. They disappeared instantly, and from each, a heart-shaped orb flew up.

"The ocean isn't safe," Triton stated.

"_Please_ tell me Ariel's here!" Myde begged. "She is here, right?"

Triton didn't respond. Myde let out a yelp to this.

"Myde," the king began, "I want you to go find her. Keep her safe, and bring her back here."

"U—uhm," Myde stuttered, "with all due respect, Your Majesty, but I don't think I could protect myself, let alone Ariel. I got here mostly by luck!" The king was silent for a while. A worried look was spread about his face, until suddenly, he seemed to have a plan.

"Hold out your sitar," the king told him.

"Huh? M—my sitar?" Myde questioned.

"Just do it," Triton ordered, almost a yell.

Myde slipped his sitar off of his back, and held it out by the neck to Triton. The king extended the Trident and a blue light shot from it. When it hit Myde's sitar, he felt it pulse with some strange energy.

"Whoa," Myde whispered. "What'd you do?"

"I put a little _magic _in it," the king explained. "That should help you for now."

"No kiddin'," Myde said to himself. As he held the instrument in his hands, he could feel the power surge within it. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'll bring her back, I promise!"

"I know you will," Triton said to him. "Now hurry!"

The first few monsters Myde managed to destroy was pure luck, as he still didn't quite know how to use his magical sitar. After a while, he started to get the hang of it. Myde realized that by plucking the strings, he could send sound waves that were powerful enough to damage, and eventually destroy the dark creatures. If he were to put a lot of power behind his strums, he could use those sound waves and control the water to create powerful jet streams.

Myde noticed that after each creature he destroyed, a strange glowing heart flew up from them. He also noticed that no matter how many he destroyed, the monsters would still keep popping up. It was like destroying them wasn't depleting their numbers. The more he fought, the more fatigued he grew, but Myde knew that he couldn't stop. The king gave him an order, and even if he didn't, he'd still make sure Ariel was safe.

'_Wait. I haven't checked...'_

Myde's thought ended, as he hurriedly swam through the undersea gorge to the one place he didn't check. Using the magic in his sitar, he managed to make himself move faster, using the jet stream technique. More creatures appeared, but he ignored them since he figured that destroying them would do no good. Myde made it to the bolder that led to Ariel's grotto. He turned around, and strummed all of the strings, making sound waves explode from the sitar, knocking the creatures back. Myde used this time to quickly slip inside.

"Ariel?" he called out, his voice echoing through the cavern.

"M—Myde?"

'_She's safe.'_

"Myde, what's going on?" Ariel appeared in front of him. "What are those things?"

"I dunno," Myde admitted, "but your father told me to help you get to the palace."

"Right," she said. "They'd probably find me in here, eventually."

"Okay, just stay behind me," Myde told her. Ariel nodded.

Myde readied his sitar, as he pushed the bolder away. He quickly slipped through, and began playing a quick melody, scattering the creatures in different directions. Myde grabbed Ariel's hand, pulling her through the opening.

"How did you..?" Ariel began, trailing off.

"A gift from your father. Pretty cool, huh?" he explained with a slight chuckle. "But there's no time for chit-chat. We gotta move."

The two continued on the path to the palace. Both were cautious of their surroundings. A few creatures ambushed them, but Myde took care of them with a few movements of his fingertips. The two just had to enter through another cave, and then it was a straight shot to the palace; however, the worst possible thing could have happened.

"Myde!" Ariel shrieked.

Myde turned around to see Ariel being restrained by one of the dark monsters. He didn't want to risk hurting his friend, so he decided to use his sitar as a weapon. Myde took the instrument by the tip of the neck with both hands, and smacked the creature in the head. Its grip on Ariel loosened just enough for her to flip, and smack it in the face with the end of her fin. Myde plucked a string, sending a wave of power, and destroyed it.

"That was a close one," Myde said, sighing in relief. "C'mon, we're almost there."

"Uhm, Myde," Ariel said, pointing forward. When Myde turned around, he saw that the black creatures were materializing one by one, blocking the path.

"Dammit, you gotta be kiddin'," Myde cursed. "Fine, bring it!"

Myde swam to one of the creatures, and slammed the sitar in its side. He quickly managed to slip it back in playing position and sent a sound wave at it, destroying it. His fingertips began to dance on the neck of the instrument. Powerful waves were sent out, destroying the monsters.

"Myde, look out!" Ariel called out.

Myde turned his attention behind him, but it was too late. One of the spear-bearing creatures had stabbed Myde through his chest. The pain was unbearable, but all he could do was stare at the weapon that stuck out of his body. The creature pulled his weapon out, and Myde put both hands to his chest. Breathing became difficult, and everything was dimming around him. With the last bit of his strength, he looked to Ariel.

"G—get to.. the p—palace," he choked.

Myde stared up toward the surface of the ocean, and everything got dark, fast. The last thing he heard was Ariel screaming. The last thing he saw was a strange object flying from him. He had never seen it before, but somehow he knew it was his heart.

_..What's happening to me? I—I can't see anything. _

_S—so..dark. I can feel myself falling..._

_Falling..._

_Falling..._

_Into darkness..._

_I should feel scared, but somehow... I..._

_I just hope Ariel is gonna be alright..._

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**Hope you liked this chapter. Reviews are appreciated!**


	6. The Organization

**This is the second-to-last chapter. The final chapter is going to be an epilogue of sorts, skipping to when Demyx has spent a little time in the Organization. Hope you enjoy!**

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Everything was still dark, but that was because Myde was halfway asleep. He felt like he was alive, but at the same time, he felt very strange. Myde struggled to remember what was happening and what he was doing. It seemed to take a lot of strength just to open his eyes. He found himself lying on his stomach. Myde raised his head up, and saw a very strange symbol. Using his arms and knees, he—

'_..what?'_

Myde flipped himself over ask quickly as he could, and scanned his body. He was completely dressed in a black cloak. His eyes shot wide open when he noticed that he had _human_ _legs._ He tilted his head to the side, as he tried to move his left leg. He struggled to raise it in the air, and then began to try to move each joint. He quickly learned how to bend his leg at the knee, and rotate his foot at the ankle.

"Oh, you're awake now?" a voice sounded. "'Bout time."

Myde looked over and noticed a man with fiery red hair and teal-green eyes in the corner of the room he was in. His arms were crossed, and he had a slight smirk on his face.

"Who.." Myde began.

"Name's Axel," he spat, before Myde could finish. "Got it memorized?"

Myde didn't respond. He was thoroughly confused. He quickly scanned his surroundings. The room was completely white, with a black symbol behind him. There was one window, and outside it looked just like the night sky.

"What.." Myde managed to say, but trailed off.

"Don't worry, everything will be explained," Axel assured him. With that, Axel extended an arm and from it came a strange darkness, which he disappeared in.

Myde would have tried to followed him, if he knew how to walk. Instead, he shut his eyes and tried to remember everything that had happened up to this point.

'_I remember now...'_

The strange orb in the sky. Those black creatures. The darkness. Everything flowed back into his mind. He immediately remembered that Ariel had been alone, and hoped that she was alright.

"Did you have a nice rest?"

Myde looked up to see the source of the unfamiliar voice. He saw two people, one with slightly dark skin, and white hair. The other at his side had long, blue hair, and an X-shaped scar on his forehead. Myde scooted back from them as they entered the room.

"No need to be so scared of us, friend," the white haired one explained.

"Who said we're friends, _human_?" Myde hissed. The man sighed.

"Yes, it's true that we come from different worlds," he said, "but even though we look the same right now, we aren't human."

"What?" Myde questioned, barely a whisper.

"I am called Xemnas," he said. He then pointed to the blue haired one, "This is Saïx. We are part of the Organization...and by we, I also mean you."

"O—Organization?" Myde asked.

"You are our ninth member," Saïx told him.

"You guys aren't making _any _sense!" Myde yelled. "Just tell me what the hell is going on!"

"Very well," Xemnas said. "You've been through a lot. You deserve an explanation. First off, what do you remember?"

Myde hung his head as he struggled to remember, even though the thoughts just went through his mind.

"The...the black creatures," he managed to say.

"The Heartless," Saïx corrected him. "The Heartless are what brought you to us, more or less."

"What do you mean?" Myde questioned further. "I still don't understand."

"The Heartless are creatures that are attracted by the darkness in peoples' hearts," Xemnas explained. "There is darkness within _every _heart. Amidst your futile battle with the Heartless, your heart was lost."

"My...heart?" Myde muttered, putting a hand to his chest.

"Yes," Xemnas confirmed. "Usually, when someone loses their heart, they become a Heartless; however, there are a select few whose hearts are strong. When their heart is lost, a shell of their self is left behind. These remaining shells are called Nobodies.

"Some Nobodies are stronger than others. We, the Organization, take these stronger Nobodies, and recruit them to help our cause."

"And your cause is..?" Myde asked.

"To obtain hearts of our own," Saïx answered.

There was so much to take in. Myde wondered whether or not to believe the two. It crossed his mind that this was some crazy dream, and that he'd wake up any minute...but he remembered the darkness. It was too real—too scary to be a dream. Even so, he wished that he would wake up, and spend another day with Ariel.

"Hey!" Myde shouted, "Ariel! Is she okay? Is she?" The two men stared at him.

"Oh," Xemnas began, "your little red-headed friend? She's fine. For now. They think she is one of the Princesses of Heart. As long as they think that, they will not harm her."

"Okay." Myde had no idea what he was talking about, but as long as she was safe, he didn't care, "I'm just a bit worried."

"Feh," Saïx scoffed, "no need to pretend."

"_What?_" Myde hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"It's not like you have a _heart_ to feel with," Saïx responded.

Myde didn't notice before, but he remembered not feeling scared as he fell into darkness. He concentrated and found that even though he was sad, he couldn't cry a single tear. It was at this point he realized that he, now a Nobody, couldn't feel without a heart. He realized that was the reason the Organization's primary goal was to obtain hearts of their own. So they could feel. So they could be _somebody._

"I think I understand," Myde admitted, hanging his head slightly, staring at his _legs_.

"Good," Saïx told him, "Number IX."

"Ah, yes, Saïx. You just reminded me," Xemnas said. "You haven't been given your new name, yet."

"My new name?" Myde questioned.

"All new recruits are given a new name," Xemnas explained. "Yours is 'Demyx.'"

"Demyx..." It was brand new, but it somehow felt natural. "Alright."

"We'll be leaving you now," Xemnas told him. "You'll be given a full introduction to the entire Organization later today."

"Try to learn how to walk by then," Saïx hissed.

Myde—no, Demyx narrowed his eyes at Saïx's remark. He decided to ignore it, because he had a point. Demyx didn't know how to use this new body. With a deep breath, Demyx slid his feet off of the side of the bed, and hung them just above the floor. He exhaled, and set both feet flat on the surface. It took him a moment to figure out how to use these new appendages, but eventually he stood up...and fell to the ground.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath. Demyx used the bed to help himself stand up. He carefully balanced himself, and took his hand off of the bed. His knees were shaking, struggling to keep himself up, but he was standing for the very first time. Excitement filled him up, until he realized that what he was "feeling" wasn't really excitement, but it was close enough. Demyx then tried to take a few steps forward. Keeping his hand on the wall, he threw his right foot out in front of him and paused for a moment, as he tried to get the rhythm. Being a music lover, rhythm was his specialty. Demyx eventually got the pattern of the steps, but was still having slight trouble balancing. He continued to use the wall for support.

It seemed like only a matter of minutes before Demyx was walking without stumbling or shaking. He "felt" very proud of himself. Demyx began walking in circles around his room with a big grin on his face.

'_I wonder if _she'd_ be able to walk this easy..'_

Demyx let out a sigh at the memory of his friend. While he enjoyed taking his first steps, he wished that she were here to experience her first steps, too. He decided that remembering wouldn't do any good. He just had to do his part in the Organization, and he would have his heart back. Then he could go back home.

Demyx was so excited about walking that he didn't notice a familiar object leaning against the wall near his bed. He quickly rushed over to it, almost tripping over his feet(he, at this point, realized that he hadn't practiced running). It was a sitar, but it looked very different from the one he had in the ocean. He didn't care, though. Demyx picked up the instrument by the neck, and strummed the strings slowly. A shiver traveled down his spine. He felt as if he hadn't heard the sound in ages.

He began to pluck the strings and play a familiar tune. A tune from his _somebody_ life. One that would never be complete, unless _she_ were there to sing. Nonetheless, he continued playing, and imagined _her_ voice along with the notes.

_When you are happy with laughter to spare,_

_Fun is twice as fun with someone to share..._

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**I really liked writing this chapter for some reason. Heh, anyway, hope you liked it, please review.**


	7. Search of a Familiar Place

**Okay, final chapter. Originally, this was going to have two different endings(like an 'A' ending and a 'B' ending), but I favored this one, and the other idea just kind of faded. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. **

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Demyx let out a yawn as he headed down to the Grey Area for his mission briefing. He just wanted to get the mission over with as quickly as possible, and get some more sleep. As Demyx made his way into the Grey Area, he scanned the room, seeing that it was empty, other than Saïx. He supposed that the other members had already set out on their missions. Demyx made his way to Saïx.

"Today," Saïx began, "you will be heading to a new world. Should be somewhat familiar."

"Alrighty," Demyx replied, with a stretch.

"You'll be going to Atlantica," Saïx explained.

If Demyx had a heart, it would have skipped at least ten beats.

"'Scuse me?" Demyx asked him wide-eyed.

"Relax," Saïx told him, "it's only recon."

"That's not what I meant!" Demyx exclaimed. He quickly searched his mind for an excuse, "How do you expect me to do recon? I'll _drown_!"

"We thought of that," Saïx said. He held out a small vial, shaped like the Organization's symbol. Inside was a shining blue liquid. "Vexen made this little potion especially for you. It will transform you, so long as you stay under water. Break the surface, and you will change back."

Demyx sighed in defeat, and took the vial from him. It's not that he didn't want to go to Atlantica. He just didn't want to accidentally run into _her_. The Organization had a strict rule about being incognito during missions, and the last thing Demyx wanted to happen was to be turned into a Dusk for disobeying orders.

"As far as we know, the area is void of Heartless," Saïx explained. Demyx let out a slight sigh of relief at this. "However, we aren't completely sure. Keep an eye out for any Heartless, and if you see even _one_, report back immediately.

"Yeah, sure," Demyx muttered. He extended an arm out and created a dark corridor to Atlantica. Before he could step through it, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Demyx," Saïx said. Demyx looked over his shoulder to him. "Remember. Absolutely _no contact _with anyone."

"Yeah, yeah," Demyx said, waving a hand at him, "I gotcha."

Demyx stepped through the dark corridor, and saw that he was on a tiny island about as wide as he was tall. It seemed slightly familiar, but he shook off the "feeling" as he pulled out the vial. He took a quick look at the strange liquid and tossed it in his mouth and swallowed it. His nose wrinkled at the disgusting taste.

'_Yuck. You think Vexen would be smart enough to make it taste decent..'_

Demyx closed his eyes and hopped in the water. The salty sea water brought back a wave of memories the more he became submerged in the water. He opened his eyes when he knew he was completely under. The black cloak he had been so familiar with was gone, and his legs were replaced with a light blue fishtail. His sitar was strapped to his back, just like in his somebody life. Though he knew his happiness wasn't real, he couldn't help from grin ear-to-ear. Demyx did a few flips to help him get the feel of a fin once again. Swimming felt so unnatural, from walking for such a long time.

"Oh, right," he whispered to himself, "the mission."

Demyx swam down further, closer to the ocean floor. At first glance, it seemed that there were no signs of any sort of struggle with Heartless. He continued his search to be sure. The more he swam, the more merpeople he passed. Demyx made sure that he wasn't in their sight. He noticed that none seemed to be scared, or cautious, or anything of the sort. He began to recall how deserted the entire area was when the Heartless first showed up. Either there weren't any, or the merpeople had just gotten used to them.

He continued to swim in the areas he was most familiar with. Demyx saw a few merchildren playing together. He figured that this was ample proof that the Heartless population was zero. Even so, there was one place he just _had _to check. Demyx swam cautiously in the undersea gorge, and floated to the familiar boulder, hiding the secret spot. He grasped the end of the boulder, and began to pull it open.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Demyx released the boulder, and all of his muscles tensed up. He recognized the voice he just heard, but he _hoped_ that it wasn't her. When Demyx didn't respond, _she_ swam in front of him. His eyes managed to find hers, and the memories with her came flooding back.

"Just who..." Ariel trailed off when she got a better look at his face. Her head tilted to the side, and she seemed like she was about to cry.

Demyx opened his mouth to say something, but didn't. Instead, he turned completely around, and swam upward so he could RTC. Ariel cried in protest as he darted off, and he knew that she was following him. Despite being out of the water for so long, he managed to swim fairly quickly. Demyx finally broke the surface, and felt the potion's effects wearing off. His fin split and became two legs, and his coat materialized on him. He landed on the small island, but rather than heading through the dark corridor, he froze. A splash sounded, indicating that Ariel had just broke the surface.

"M—Myde?" she whimpered.

Demyx turned to her and made eye contact. The two just stared at each other. Ariel looked as if she didn't know what to say. Demyx knew that he couldn't say anything. He wanted so badly to explain to her what had happened that day; however, Demyx didn't want her involved in any of this. Exposure to the Organization meant more exposure to the Heartless.

'_Remember. Absolutely no contact with anyone.'_

Saïx's order echoed in his mind. Demyx let out a sigh, and summoned his sitar. When it materialized in playing position, he threw his fingers across the strings. The sound caused a wall of water to splash up high, splitting the two. Just before Demyx slipped through the dark corridor, he wiped his face of the salty water with his hand. Demyx knew better. The salty water was just from the ocean. He quickly disappeared into the dark corridor.

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**And that's the end. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. Please review!**


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